Jottings in Columbus 11th December 2015 - ( Indians abroad)

Dan and me were sitting at one of the finest Asian fusion restaurants on the East coast- "Molly woos", a signature offering by restaurateur Cameron Mitchell. Its been around a for a long time, and adorns a prime spot within the sprawling Polaris mall in Columbus Ohio. It was a cold evening, and had drizzled during a bit during the day giving the skies that overcast look which imperceptibly adds a little nip to the air. Dan heads a performance testing team and has been with the organization for 15 years. After a quick round of appetizers (delectably spiced spring rolls with little meat in it) , Dan asked me a question:

"Bala, Pardon me for asking you this. I have a lot of Indians working in my team and I have worked alongside many. They are great guys. Brilliant, hardworking and all of that. But one striking feature that stands out though for me is that most of them dont get along well each other professionally. There is always this strong undercurrent of , for want of a better word, "Back-biting". They wouldn't share learning, they would ignore and alienate someone who could potentially be a threat, form little coteries among themselves based on language, religion or creed. Even in our class today, I am sure you observed how some of them were pulling down a few individuals, and making mocking insinuations at others. Did you see what I am saying? Is this a common trait in your culture?

I could only smile when Dan asked me this. I knew exactly what he was talking about. There were eight Indians in this group I taught, and must agree and confess that the show they put on among themselves is perhaps one of the most unprofessional, immature and childish behavior I have ever seen in a congregation of IT professionals in a long time. Please do not mistake me. They were were attentive in class and had no issues. But between themselves, the psychological games they were playing, was creating a palpably uneasy atmosphere in the room. North vs south, Language Vs language - these were themes upon which variations were being played. At one point, i actively intervened and requested them to stop this bickering. All this done with a smile and a joke (obviously). So I know where Dan's question was coming from. I answered

"Dan, a good question. And here is my take on why we put on this kind of glaring odd behavior. And I have noticed this in many classes and forums. This happens only in a group of Indian who have not yet settled down in this country. Given the huge influx of software professionals, the fight to stay in US, get a green card, cement their lives becomes overwhelmingly pressing on them. And during those initial years, I mean three to five when they work on temporary visas, insecurity is rampant. Given the fact that India as a nation is fractured at every level, it is not surprising we tend to carry those illusory decisions, boundaries into an alien country. In our group, for instance, you noticed how a gentleman from North India was mocking at someone from the south. Individuals speaking same language or from the same stare often tend to isolating others, and many times go out to the way to promote members of their own community..." Dan and I laughed aloud . ..The fight to stay becomes very personal and unprofessional. But once they settle down,you will see they become more accommodating and less divisive. But your are right, Sometimes, it does look downright silly and childish.

Dan chuckled " Yea, I actually had a person from this group (He didn't name him) who came up and accused of another stealing his code. It is odd to me that someone would actually do that. They work in the same team. I asked him to forget it and move on.."

It was nine in the evening, and Dan left me to drive home, which is about 20 miles away. Temperatures had dropped drastically. As I stepped out of the restaurant, the sudden chill made me involuntarily shudder. I pulled my hoodies on, and put on my gloves.Walking back to my hotel, I was thinking about this conversation I just had. The basic problem Indians face in the US is the strong sense of language and geographical divisions they are bought up with, and find it difficult to let go. Even today, a common man from Chennai finds it difficult to relate to another from Delhi. Though we call ourselves a geographically united country, i doubt if this sense of unity has really sunk deep into our psyches. I am not generalizing here. Things are changing, but the predominant face of Indians I see in the line of my work seems to be more parochial than global. We invariably gravitate to each other based on language and state (Fortunately caste is becoming unimportant, Thank God!!). And between themselves they strive to establish a hegemony in a given context. Well one can argue that it happens with Chinese, Japanese , Koreans, middle eastern and many others, but the big difference though is they still conduct themselves as part of broader nationality in an adopted country than emphasize small differences in dialect and food. And what is more important is that these differences should never ever be bought to one's work place. While we are respected, to a great extent , even revered as paragons of intellectual and technical virtuosity in Global work place, we must also remember that we are exposing our inherent insecurities to a wider audience in many perceptible and imperceptible ways. Living in the US is certainly a dream worth pursuing, but definitely not at the cost of bringing down somebody in the process.

God bless..

Yours in mortality,

Bala